Boys’ own joke

From
Tom Oliver

I have read the “Wash. Biol. Surv.” story(Feedback, 10 October)
in the Boys’ Own Paper, London, in a bound set covering 1932 to 1933.

The underlying theme, of a patronising superiority over the less educated,
could have originated at any time from around 1850. Oral tradition isn’t the
only vehicle for urban folklore: the lighter columns of magazines also serve
very well.